


Faster Than Light

by Nseven



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, BioWare, Biotics (Mass Effect), Colonist (Mass Effect), Earthborn (Mass Effect), F/M, Fluff and Smut, Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Other, Outer Space, Paragade (Mass Effect), Post-Mass Effect 1, Renegade Shepard (Mass Effect), Ruthless (Mass Effect), Science Fiction, Smut, Spacer (Mass Effect), Spectre Kaidan Alenko, War Hero (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28211628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nseven/pseuds/Nseven
Summary: The planet known as Ivoria has been the settled home to scientists from all over the galaxy. One discovery and an experiment gone wrong is all it takes for a war against a species otherwise never heard of.Now that humanity has a seat in the Citadel Council, the Alliance has a more established role in the galaxy and even more resources at its disposal. However, it will take the unity of all races in the Milky Way to defeat a new threat: the scorched.Tessa Rubio was just a scientist who upgraded her own biotic implant and wanted to study the mass effect fields. She was no soldier, not anymore, but she'll soon find out just how vital she is to the mission of a particular spectre.[Mass Effect alternate universe][set after the ending of Mass Effect 1][violence][strong use of language]
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. The Commander

"I'm looking for Shepard."

Kaidan Alenko couldn't count how many times he had said that in the last few weeks. After the events that took place on Virmire only a few months ago, the first human spectre known as John Shepard had taken some much needed leave time considering he had lost more friends that day than in the past few years combined. Shepard had seen war, felt loss, and experienced pain, but that day took a toll on everyone, especially him. 

A rumor is what led the Major to a small town on Earth where an Alliance military base was less than two hours away. Kaidan was once the closest friend of Shepard, but even still, that didn't make Shepard any easier to find if he didn't want to be found in the first place. 

The situation was dire, however, and he didn't know who else to reach out to for insight. If anyone would know about the relic found on Ivoria, it would be Shepard considering he had seen blueprints of similar technology. Looking at the blueprint that was digitally sent over to him from Admiral Anderson, it filled Kaidan with more flashbacks than he would have liked to remember. 

"Shepard? As in the commander Shepard? I haven't heard that name around here in a long time," the older man chuckled. 

He was sitting on a porch with his legs hanging off the ledge, not far from the grassy ground. Next to him, a younger boy was also sat. Judging by the resemblance of their eyes and nose and hair color yet drastic difference in age, Kaidan felt that it was safe to assum this was a man and his grandson sitting at a farm that would continue to be passed down for generations to come. 

"Grandpa, who is commander Shepard?" The kid asked, confirming Kaidan's theory. 

The man looked down at his grandson and said, "Boy, your parents better keep you off that damn omni-tool playing games and hit you with a history lesson." His grandson only blinked, still riddled with confusion worn in his green eyes. The man only shook his head at him before returning his stare at Kaidan to say, "Shepard laid low renting one of the farms down the road and used to buy fresh vegetables from us. He hasn't come 'round here in a few months, and I'm damn glad of it."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his issued black and blue Alliance fatigues. He asked, "And why's that?"

"That man lived so far down the road and I still heard him firing bullets into the air and doing target practice at the ass crack of dawn."

The major sighed at this and thanked them for their time before turning back to the black car parked on the dirt road. He slammed the door next to him once he sat down behind the wheel. Inside in the passenger's seat, a voice asked, "Any luck?" 

Lilith, a woman he had known from Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, had her eyes big as she waited for a response. 

"What does it look like?" Kaidan asked, closing his eyes annoyed. 

She bit her tongue and instead placed a hand on his upper thigh. "Kai, I know you're upset, but we're a team."

Kaidan let out a sigh and nodded before starting the car. They drove down the road for the next farm in silence until a sharp gasp pulled him from his stare at the next driveway in front of him. 

"There!" 

He looked to where Lilith was pointing. Near the edge of the forest surrounding the back side of the farmhouse, the flashing lights and noise of a gun firing could be seen and heard. Kaidan quickly leapt out of the car, not even fully turning it off before he ran around the house to the source. He wasn't even sure if this was the right farm, but whatever was happening, he wanted to check it out. 

And he was glad he did. 

Facing the forest and firing at trees for targets, John Shepard showed no signs of recoil as he sprayed bullets into the area in front of him. When his ammo was out and ready to be replenished, Kaidan took advantage of the silence and adjusted his voice loudly. 

Nothing scared Shepard anymore, but Kaidan coming up from behind him in a location Shepard otherwise thought to be hiding him from any radar came as a bit of a surprise. 

Shepard had kept his head shaved with a shadow of dark stubble that had recently grown. Even if he was on leave, Shepard still wore a black tee shirt with the Alliance logo on it that was too small for the muscles in his arms. 

"Spraying bullets and raising noise ordinances is a great way of laying low," Kaidan rolled his eyes. There were several feet between the two men. Shepard couldn't bring himself to say anything as he trailed off, "Kaidan..."

"What? Surprised? I had no idea where you were for months, but you knew how to contact me, so don't act so shocked."

Shepard shook his head and took a few steps forward, "You don't understand. It was..."

Kaidan put his hand up as if to dismiss his old comrade, "Save it, Shepard, I'm here on a need-to-know basis. I thought you may know something about this blueprint."

As soon as he heard this, Shepard knew what this was about. There was no way to escape the breaking news: another relic found by scientists. It was like the last year meant nothing to the galaxy. The last time something old and unknown was discovered, there was a war over it that ended only just a few months ago on Virmire. 

Though he felt he owed it to Kaidan to help. 

"I honestly don't know what these blueprints are going to build, but I know someone who can help. She's back on the planet, Ivoria, where the relic was found. I'm sure she has been studying it already, if she even has access to the blueprints. How do you have access?" 

Shepard was genuinely curious. After the discovery of the beacon, confidentiality of these planets colonized for scientists and researchers increased tenfold. The fact that news of a discovered relic blueprint got leaked is bad enough. Who else may be looking at the blueprint?

"Relax. The council had a spectre planted in the research division on Ivoria who was able to scan it before they sealed it up for further examination."

He wanted to feel relieved by this, but Shepard knew that only an idiot believes the official store. No matter how many promotions Kaidan had received, there was always going to be something that the higher ups weren't telling him. Even Shepard had experienced that.

"Find Tessa Rubio. The blueprint looks like it requires ground zero. She specializes in ground zero and the mass effect field."

Kaidan nodded, understanding until something occurred to him. "Do we know her? That name sounds so familiar."

At that point, footsteps could be heard shuffling through fallen leaves. Lilith was now here, her eyes wide and on Shepard in the flesh. She had gone longer than Kaidan without seeing Shepard. 

Shepard looked at her then returned his stare to Kaidan, purposefully ignoring her presence as he said, "I don't know her, but you do. She went to brain camp with you."

"Shepard. Good to see you. Who was at brain camp with us?" Lilith chimed in. 

Just like that, the memories came flooding back. Kaidan only had one semester of brain camp with her, but it was probably his most fun semester of all. He wished that he could remember the details that came with the resurfaced feeling of how much fun they had, but he struggled to. After all, he forced himself to forget a lot from that time of his life. 

"Tessa Rubio," he answered. 

"Never met her," Lilith said, keeping her eyes on Shepard who had returned to reloading his gun. 

"I'm sure you will soon. You coming?" Kaidan asked as he turned on his heel to head back to his car. Shepard snuck a glance up before quickly returning his eyes to his gun. 

Lilith stammered, "Oh, yeah, uh, give me a second with the commander."

With that, Kaidan had made his way back to the car as he already began to plot his trip to the planet of Ivoria for further answers.


	2. Ivoria

Not many planets existed with a biosphere so similar to Earth's that allowed for native Earth plants and animals to thrive. As soon as his small tactile ship, the USS Viper, cleared for landing at the docking bay on the planet of Ivoria, he was suited up and waiting at the airlock. Behind him, Lilith followed also wearing her onyx armor. 

They were met by an Asari chaplain. She wore light armor, primarily silver with gold accents. Her name, Cosmis, was laser engraved on her armor like the uniform that it was, filled in with black enamel. Her arm was folded to display her omni-tool as it scanned the two visitors. She said, "Major Alenko and miss Lilith Browne, welcome to Ivoria. Would you like a tour?"

Kaidan shook his head, "No ma'am, but thank you. I'm here to visit an old friend. Maybe you can point me in the direction of Tessa Rubio." Cosmis waved her hand to click a few buttons projected by her omni-tool before nodding. She said, "You can find her in the lab on the third floor of the building just across the bridge."

He thanked her again and as he headed for the bridge, he heard Lilith behind him say, "I'd like a tour."

Everything on this planet was so surreal. It was like Earth, atmospherically speaking, but the population was mainly composed of humans, asari, and of course, the salarians. The more we're other species here and there, especially the turians and krogans that made up the security personnel. This wasn't unusual in the slightest. It was just bizarre seeing people walk their pet varren with their pet dogs. He had been back to Earth now three times in the last year, yet even still seeing native animals throughout the Milky Way was still surprising to him. 

The architecture of buildings, bridges, and decorations obviously resembled different intergalactic culture. A few years ago, Kaidan would have thought that this planet should belong to the original colonists, the humans, but now he could appreciate that they were all interwoven with mostly like minded goals for research and scientific advancements. 

He found himself walking faster despite how he was taking in all of his surroundings. Before he knew it, he was on the third floor of the large building he had been referred to. He was doubtful of how easy it would be to find Tessa Rubio until he turned out of the elevator. He expected long hallways with never ending doors that would lead to nowhere, but he realized the third floor one just one single large room, aside from the bathroom somewhere off in the back corner. 

Numerous metal tables and devices of all sizes could be seen throughout the room. Not a single speck of dust could be found nor any fingerprints or smears along the metal and glass. Why? He saw about three janitors obsessively cleaning the laboratory while one other particular janitor could be seen following a woman's every move, cleaning everything she touches. 

"We must maintain a sterile environment, Grogo! Keep up!" The woman said, moving numerous beakers with unknown liquids from one table to the next, pouring one beaker into a vile and measuring another into a graduated cylinder. Some glowed yellow, others immediately turned black. As soon as she was done with each instrument, she would hastily hand it to the nervous salarian who would quickly sanitize it before putting it where it belongs to be used again later. 

He knew the woman, not as much as he once did for a few short months, but he did know her. It was Tessa Rubio with the long brown hair always braid down her head to the right side. When the salarian called Grogo realized their audience, he stiffly stopped in his tracks and straightened up before adjusting his voice. 

Tessa didn't realize, too preoccupied with her work to notice Grogo was no longer following her. She only realized that he wasn't there when she went to hand him a contaminated beaker only to drop it. Fortunately, she saw there was no one next to her and used her biotics to catch the beaker before it had a chance to make a mess. 

The purple mass of energy surrounded the beaker, emitting a warping noise as it enveloped it and brought it back to her grasp before disappearing to which it came. Her grip became tight around the neck of the beaker as she turned to Grogo. 

She was about to comment on how slow he was acting today, but she finally picked up on the crowd she had acquired. 

"Kaidan?" She knew it to be him. She would recognize him from a mile away, even after all of these years. As if she had slipped, she adjusted her voice and said, "Major Alenko, welcome..."

Tessa set the beaker down, gesturing for Grogo to go get it and clean it as she took a few steps closer to Kaidan who was just as surprised as she was. 

"Uh, Lieutenant Rubio, you look amazing," he went to formally extend his hand for a shake only to be pulled into a hug. 

Luckily, the hug hid her blush. This man was probably her first childish crush which said a lot considering she was sixteen and he was eighteen when they met at brain camp for biotics. For the few short months that they had known each other, they had gotten to know each other well and go through hell quite a few times in the process. No matter how much they had changed in ten years, there were some stories shared that they would never forget.

"What brings you here?" She asked when they adamantly pulled away. The feeling of Kaidan's arms wrapped around her, even when covered in thick armor, took her back to their days of biotic training. 

He said, "Shepard thought you may be able to help with the relic."

Tessa visibly stiffened at this. She shook her head and looked down as she said, "Major, it's not safe here. I'm going to send you a navpoint to meet me at during sunset. I have work to finish."

Her accent nearly kept him from paying attention to what she was saying, but more attention to how she was saying it. The way words rolled off her tongue out of those plump lips felt as if he had been taken back in time to their training. He wanted to tell her to call him by his name, like they used to when they were young, but he knew this would raise suspicion. The Alliance tasked him with doing this and he had the support of the council. He didn't want to jeopardize by getting them to believe an old friend may throw him off. 

Kaidan nodded, "I look forward to it."

The navpoint sent to him was a cliff above a neighborhood near the lab. He didn't have to travel far, but he did wait a good while for her. However, his impatience was suddenly nonexistent when he heard her climbing up the rocks to the cliff. Once she made it to the top, he offered his armored hand to which she accepted as he pulled her to the top. 

Her brown braided hair had numerous fly away strands and light frizz. He remembered her that way, for her wild hair that always got in her face. It brought him back to a particular night, the one where they said goodbye. His last memory of them consisting of him tucking away a few strands behind her ear before she left to enlist. 

"Where have you been?" He smiled as he made small talk, sitting down at the edge of the cliff. 

Tessa didn't hesitate to sit next to him, overlooking the skyscrapers and neighborhoods of numerous cultures and styles that Ivoria was made up of. She said, "Well, after brain camp, the Alliance Navy offered me a position I couldn't refuse... performing my own research in a lab with my name on it, in exchange for doing a couple of missions for them. After the battle of Dedra, they let me finish my contract without re-enlisting and gave me an even bigger lab here to keep me quiet."

The Alliance Navy.

After one semester of friendship, one action packed, brutal, heartwarming, heartbreaking, semester, she broke the news to Kaidan that she was going to enlist. He thought this was a great idea considering he was going green side for the Marines, until she said that she had been offered a Navy SEALS position. It was a contract of six years, longer than most, and he tried endlessly for weeks to convince her to enlist with him. It was of no use. The Alliance Navy had offered her a deal so she could work towards her dream of getting a top clearance internship studying element zero. It was exactly what she had always wanted. 

That was how she went on to meet Shepard, stationed somewhere at the right place at the right time despite being on totally different missions. 

"The battle of Dedra," he trailed off as he tried to connect the dots, "I had no idea that you went through that. If I had known, I surely would have reached out. That was a brutal year."

"Don't worry about it, all information regarding that battle was under high security. The only people who knew about it were the people that had the misfortune of being there." 

He noticed that her shoulders sank a bit at this and her eyes dropped from his own brown ones to her lap. He decided to try and lighten the mood, "Maybe you can tell me over a few drinks sometime. Following regs and nondisclosure policies, of course"

She looked up, almost as if she had thought about it before she narrowed her eyes at him. She asked, "What is this about? You pop up out of nowhere and now you just want to catch up?"

"You were my best friend and our lives went two different ways. I didn't know what to do. Now I need your help."

Tessa sighed at this. She thought that he was telling the truth, it seemed like it. The old Kaidan couldn't lie to her. He was too inquisitive and curious and interested in knowing everything. However, that was ten years ago. Both of them had changed. 

Either way, she gave him the benefit of the doubt and asked, "I don't blame you for anything, Major, but I have to ask... what do you want with the relic?" Kaidan let out a sigh. He moved his gaze from her to the horizon of Ivoria as he thought of a response. He said, "I know you heard about the relic found here."

She nodded, "Yeah, but I have never even seen the thing. I can't even get anyone to talk about it. I'm afraid I won't be of much use to you."

"I have the blueprint. A spectre scanned it before they locked it up. Shepard told me that if anyone could put it together, it would be you."

This was a lot to take in. A spectre, someone above all galactic laws somehow, had been planted in Ivoria for this very reason and she was being dragged into all of it. And of all people, it had been Shepard to throw her into the deep end without any warning. She said, "We haven't spoken in years. You're asking me to decrypt stolen files and compromise my job."

"I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think it was important."

"It's not safe," she said dryly, realizing he wouldn't take no for an answer. 

He understood this. He couldn't expect everyone to take the same risks as him. He said, "What if I get you cleared with top confidentially to work on this?" It would bring her some peace of mind knowing that the council and the Alliance would support her in decrypting something of such mystery. How much of a puzzle could it be? Why her?

"Get me cleared and permission to work on it in my lab, not some high security lab monitored by a bunch of strangers," she declared. If this was as big as Kaidan and the tabloids were letting on, then she would need privacy. Kaidan quickly nodded, completely understanding the secrecy of it all. After all, if Shepard recommended her for the job, how could the council say no?


	3. Fine Print

For someone who was supposed to be secretly cleared for studying an alien relic, the council sure did not pass on the opportunity to celebrate. What started as a small get together at the Citadel Tower to congratulate Tessa on the opportunity had been turned into a big party at the club thanks to numerous soldiers and civilians of all species. 

The asari dancing on tables and poles, being surrounded by krogan bouncers, and the occasional drinking contests were not necessarily Tessa's idea of celebrating, however. She knew that she was just being used as a reason for all of these people to come together with different species and have fun. She was sure that ninety percent of the people at the room lit red with strobe lights had no idea who she was or what was to be celebrated in the first place. 

She was just happy that two of the people amidst the dozens partying were her best friends and fellow researchers that had come all the way from Ivoria to see her be acknowledged by the council. 

Deja was a few years older than her and had quickly taken to be Tessa's big sisterly figure. They met when Tessa's mission went wrong a few years ago. She was able to emit a distress beacon right before going unconscious that day. There were no other ships in the vicinity. The ship Deja was aboard was passing through when the distress beacon was creating comm traffic on their way as it played in a loop. A few soldiers from the ship she was serving on went and found Tessa's body, somehow still with steady vitals despite being unattended to for nearly two days. Deja was a medic in training on that ship and was the one to get Tessa back to speed after another full day of her being unconscious. The other medics thought for sure that Tessa would end up requiring life support before remaining brain dead. 

They remained friends and pen pals once Tessa returned to the Alliance and finished up her contract before settling on Ivoria where Deja would eventually join her for research of her own in the medical field. 

She was not only older than Tessa, but she was much taller and slender. Tessa had acquired an athletic figure from her time with the Alliance Navy, but she was average size in everything else. Deja was a smooth chocolate woman without a single blemish on her dark skin. This was mostly because she hadn't seen any action out on the field and spent most of her time with basic training and remaining safely between the walls of clinics and medbays on the ship.

Standing with them was the third musketeer, also known as Oliver. He was a battle medic that served with Tessa in the Alliance Navy on a different ship. Every now and then, they planned their shore leave together and would meet at the Citadel for lunch and to catch up. Other times, they kept in touch via video comms and email terminals. 

Oliver and Tessa became great friends because they were both from small towns in Florida originally. They hadn't known each other until after they had left the state to enlist in the stars, but as soon as they found out, there was just so much more they found to have in common. The smalls towns they were from were less than an hour away from each other. They grew up going to the same beaches and the same hangout spots that were popular before finally enlisting, two years apart with Oliver enlisting before Tessa. 

He was a gym junkie. He grew up with a poor immune system and couldn't afford the medical advancements that would boost his white blood cells and antibodies. This affected his weight and in turn, it led to him being bullied most of his life before finishing high school. After the Alliance Navy saw his grades and his applications to Ivy League schools just for medical programs, they made him a deal: they'd pay for his immune system to be boosted if he signed on as a battle medic. Finding people to be battle medics wasn't hard, but finding the ones with Oliver's outstanding grades and understanding of medical research was rare. They gave Oliver a year to lose a percentage of his body fat with a personal trainer the Alliance provided to him before sending him to boot camp. 

Tessa joined the Alliance Navy under similar pretenses but for different reasons. Like Oliver, she was made a deal involving the opportunity to do life changing research in exchange for serving and seeing battle. Unlike Oliver, she didn't necessarily like the Alliance prior to joining. Oliver had been in Florida up until high school, having his own harsh outlook on life due to being born sick and being bullied. On the other hand, Tessa didn't remember much from Florida until she recently got to visit. Her father was in the Alliance for engineering and the family mostly stayed on the Citadel and they moved to Florida when her mother had been pregnant with her. This didn't last long. By the time Tessa was fourteen years old, her mother had become sick and Tessa went back to the Citadel with her father, only to send Tessa to brain camp without ever really speaking to her again. Tessa had her own tough upbringing. Where the Alliance offered Oliver a chance to do better for himself both physically and mentally, the Alliance had programs that manipulated Tessa at brain camp at a young age that had changed her forever, and she only accepted their enlistment offer to have her own research goals met. 

It was Deja who pulled Tessa from her trance as she commented, "This is big." Tessa had these memories flooding her mind as she looked out from the club balcony at the soldiers and species surrounding her and also below her at the bar. It reminded her of how far she had come, how far she had gone, and how much further she had left. What little she could remember from her enlistment, from her days at brain camp, from her family, and from Florida, she remembered vividly no matter how little it was. 

Oliver nodded at this. His neatly styled natural curls bounced at the top of his head as he did so. He said, "I can't believe the council is allowing this considering the research is such high clearance."

"Maybe because most of the people don't know what the hell is being researched, and those who do will wake up so hung over that they won't remember in the first place," Deja rolled her eyes.

All three of them laughed at this because it was true. It didn't seem like there was a single person who wasn't drinking, aside from the three of them in their small corner of the club. Their laughter had just ended as Major Kaidan Alenko approached their table. 

"Major Alenko!" Deja quickly and nervously saluted as a sign of respect. 

Kaidan waved her off with a smile, "Are you guys enjoying yourselves?"

Oliver scoffed at this, "Oh yeah, studying an illegally acquired blueprint is something to really celebrate. I mean come on, Kaidan, you know where discovering an ancient alien device got us last time."

He was referencing the beacon found on Eden Prime that sent the infamous Normandy crew splitting up in different directions. Kaidan was obviously included in that considering the mission completion is what put his name on a list of humans to be considered for a spectre role. 

Tessa nudged him with a pointy elbow to Oliver's rib cage as if to tell him that was out of line. He flinched and rolled his eyes before Tessa stepped in to say, "Major Alenko, I'm glad you made it."

She wasn't surprised considering she had joined Kaidan on his ship, the Viper, to come from Ivoria to the Citadel and she would be joining him to go back to the research planet. She also overheard a soldier talking to Kaidan about the celebration before it actually happened. 

"Well, I kind of have to keep an eye on you," he told her honestly, scratching the back of his head as he looked past her to avoid her eyes. 

"What?" Tessa asked, narrowing her eyes at him. 

Deja awkwardly adjusted her voice. She pulled Oliver by the arm who was reluctant to follow as she said, "We'll leave you two alone. Come find us at the bar later."

Tessa said nothing as they went off. Kaidan took a few steps closer to where she was leaned on the glass railing of the balcony that overlooked the rest of the club. Her back was against it while he was facing towards it, pressing his armored hands to the top. 

"You know, you're studying a blueprint that was acquired by a spectre through illegal means. Anyone else who did that would be kept in maximum security with constant surveillance. That's why you've been cleared by the council to do this, but not without fine print."

She let out a groan and let her head fall back. Her eyes were shut tightly, annoyed at the fact that she overlooked that small detail. She thought her time involved with government, military, and politics would be over after finishing her contract, yet here she was being placed under supervision of a spectre who has to give reports on her progress to the council. This is why she freelanced. It meant she had a steady flow of credits to pay for her home on Ivoria as well as fund her research. Even though it was the Alliance Navy that presented her with that opportunity since it was incredibly difficult to be allowed on Ivoria for research, she still had to come up with a means to pay for a lot of it considering all of her research projects were independent study. 

"Is that an issue?" Kaidan asked when he received no response, just an annoyed expression on her features. 

She only let out a long breath before straightening up and shaking her head. "No, it won't be. This is all just really crazy. Of all people, they pick me to study the relic? Despite how much I emphasized to the chain of command that I didn't want to be contacted after finishing my contract?"

Kaidan offered a sympathetic smile. She'd be lying if she said that it didn't make her feel warm and reassured just a little bit. She knew the situation could be worse. At least out of all the spectres that could have possibly been tasked with babysitting her science experiments, it was Kaidan, someone she used to know. Then again, it had been a decade since she had last seen him. She didn't know a thing about him anymore. 

"Shepard put your name forward to the council. He didn't even have to say why he thought you were the one for the job. He knows something they don't and after recent events, that's more than enough for the council to go off." He thought highly of Shepard and even though Tessa and Kaidan hadn't been in contact when she met Shepard years ago, she knew Shepard also thought highly of Kaidan from the few times he was mentioned. 

The only reason Shepard thought that she was the one for the job was because all of her research revolved around element zero and the mass effect fields. After all, she was "accidentally" exposed to element zero while in her mother's belly. Kaidan always suspected that it was never actually an accident. Tessa never wanted to believe him when he spewed that nonsense at brain camp. However, as she got older and studied it more, she realized that it was not only on purpose, but fairly common for many biotics to be subjected to that. 

It was time for her to change the subject. 

"Some party, right?"

Kaidan laughed, "Real classy if you ask me."

"A girl gets selected for top of the line research that will really set her portfolio forward, and they throw a party at a strip club to celebrate. Very tasteful."

They were obviously both being sarcastic, laughing at each other's disingenuous demeanor. Kaidan joked, "What? You don't think they're here for the good food?" 

She shook her head with a smile, looking at the soldiers getting lap dances and watching the asari work the metal poles. Kaidan made sure to avoid looking at any of that. It all made him feel so dirty. He had tortured, he had killed, he had broke the law, he had manipulated, he had blackmailed, but what made him feel dirty in the moment was being surrounded by men subjecting others to this. 

"Oh, you mean the varren hotdogs and mystery meat burgers? Delicious!"

He chuckled and gestured his head towards the exit, "Why don't we go check out the new waterfall they just added down in the wards to make it look better?"

Everyone knew the wards were basically the slums and a hot spot for illegal activity. Like most governments, the Citadel thought slapping a few pretty waterfalls and updating the architecture would suddenly fix the criminal activity in that area and attract tourism that brought in more money. The truth was that there was corruption on all ends in the wards. Gangs, C-Sec, politicians, soldiers, you name it. Seeing the famous Kaidan Alenko around those parts would be sure to start rumors or worse, fights. 

"As tempting as that is, I think it'd be rude to leave. This is my party after all," the last part was a joke considering no one here really cared for the reason to celebrate or what it may or may not lead to. Even she didn't know what the research she would be doing would lead to. 

Kaidan knew that, but he didn't care. He knew as well as she did that neither of them were the partying type, even after ten years of growing and changing from the last time they had seen each other. 

He straightened up his posture and nodded. He changed his tone from a laidback one to a more formal demeanor as he said, "Lieutenant Rubio, you make a great point. We might as well celebrate while we're here. Let me get you a drink, on me, of course."

She couldn't fight the smile that took over her expression when she saw his smirk. He felt as uncomfortable by the club and crowds as much as she did, but he was always one to make the best of something he was conscious about. He extended his arm and raised a brow, "Shall we? Do you still refrain from drinking liquor? May I get you a water in a fancy whiskey glass on the rocks?"

Tessa had to admit as she took his arm, "I'm impressed, Major, and you are correct." 

With that, he led her down the steps from the club balcony down the bar where he ordered two fancy glasses of water. For the next few hours of the party that was for her but wasn't actually for her, they would catch up on lost time.


	4. Shore Leave

The Viper was a smaller sized stealth ship with protype warp drives that had a focus on evasive maneuvers and speed while maintaining secrecy. It had four levels, but was otherwise compressed. It wasn't technically Kaidan's ship, but he didn't mind. 

Tessa was the last to board the ship, being showed around by Lilith until eventually taking a seat for launch. Ivoria was conveniently close to the Citadel for research and communication purposes. Fortunately, that meant the ride would be quick and painless. Or so she thought. 

After launch, Lilith approached Tessa again. She took a seat next to her where they were sat around the galaxy map. She waved her hand to activate her omni-tool before tapping a few things. Soon enough, the galaxy map had turned into a holographic projection of the blueprint. 

This was the first time Tessa was really seeing it. She had heard many things from news articles to witness accounts to rumors surrounding the relic. It was estimated that between five and twenty people saw it before it was finally sealed away until further instruction.

"I don't think now is really a good time to be looking at this," Tessa told Lilith honestly as she cautiously watched different shipmates walk by and glance over at the blueprint. 

"If not now, then when?" Lilith asked rhetorically as she studied the hologram before her. 

"Um, in a few hours when I can safely look at it at my lab," Tessa retorted. Before Lilith even got the chance to respond, they were interrupted by Kaidan. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Kaidan asked. 

No matter how pissed off he was, it didn't show in his features or even his voice. There was something about his tone that was deadly without even having to be loud or mean.

Lilith stared at him, crossing her arms as if to challenge him. She asked, "Kai? What's your problem? We're getting a head start on this thing."

"You aren't supposed to have a scan of this. You're going to get this whole thing compromised." Kaidan waved his arms at the projection and the galaxy map soon returned to the display. 

She scoffed at this, but said nothing as she stood up abruptly and walked off pissed. Kaidan didn't acknowledge her or Tessa as he went to his private terminal, one of the many computers surrounding the galaxy map. Tessa sighed and sank into her chair, closing her eyes as if it would help time go by quicker. This was going to be the longest project of her life.

Luckily, the rest of the ride went by mostly quiet for her where she remained unbothered. All of the commotion started once the ship hooked up to the docking bay and Tessa realized that people were beginning to pack their things and walk around with large backpacks, duffle bags, and suitcases. 

"Hey," she called out to Kaidan who was walking past the galaxy map, "what is everyone doing?"

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her, realizing he didn't actually brief her on what was happening. "The crew will be on shore leave here until the project is concluded."

"What? How did you get them all cleared? There's a waitlist of people who have been trying to settle on Ivoria for years. This isn't exactly a tourist planet with hotels."

She hadn't even noticed that she had crossed her arms, annoyed by this. Ivoria is a small planet dedicated to research and science. It was very welcoming to all species for the most part, but the competition to get a spot secured for living was intimidatingly high. Ivoria didn't necessarily have tourist attractions that had people jumping at the chance to visit. With that said, the communities on the planet weren't built for a hundred people to just come in and flood the available housing. 

"That is between the council, Alliance, and ambassadors of Ivoria. Are you ready?" He asked. She only nodded, still not satisfied with this answer. 

The plan was for Kaidan to ensure that Tessa arrived safely to her home where her lab was located. Though the news of her studying the relic and working with a spectre hadn't gotten out and it didn't put a target on her back per se, they still were required to take the precautions.

A house settled in a cul-de-sac was one that Tessa called home. The only reason hers stood out from the other three neighboring houses of the same style and layout were because hers had a garden of flowers surrounding the front perimeter of it. Some he recognized to be native to earth and thriving, such as roses both red and white, others were ones he had seen only in his travels throughout the galaxy and otherwise never paid attention to. He smiled at it anyways as she led the way to the front door.

Once she revealed her omni-tool to unlock the heavy duty door, she turned around him and nervously smiled, "Let me warn the kids."

Kids?!

Before he could say anything, she slipped inside the house quickly, closing the door behind her just as fast before he even got a chance to see inside. 

Kaidan knew that they hadn't seen each other in a decade, but kids? He never took her for the type. He didn't even think to ask if she was married or in a relationship for that matter. Maybe he would've if he saw a ring on her finger, a long standing human tradition, but her hands were normally gloved just like his. 

Soon enough, she opened the door and revealed her home. 

It was much larger than it looked from the outside, thanks to her minimalist decorations and furniture that didn't take up much room. The spacious living room made the house feel larger yet still styled with a theme of neutral colors. The house was a smaller sized two-story one, where the living room, kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom were on the first floor and the bedroom, lab, and another bathroom were on the second floor. 

He looked around, admiring the decor and collection of acquired antiques displayed here and there until he found himself sighing with relief. Her "kids" were two pyjaks obediently sitting on the coffee table, following Kaidan's every move with their head and dark eyes. 

"Please tell me these aren't your test subjects," he was mostly joking as he extended his hand for them to investigate before giving their approval of their visitor. 

She laughed, "No, this is Avior and Rigel, they're family."

He smiled at this. He should have known someone like Tessa would name their pets after stars. "Fitting."

Tessa led him upstairs where he and the pyjaks followed. This resulted in a hallway with two doors on the left and one on the right. She opted for the one on the right. 

It took his breath away. 

There was such a stark contrast from the decor of the house to her personal laboratory. Where the rest of the house was calmly lit with warm lights, the lab was very bright and lit with white bulbs. The metals of different devices and gear shined with not a single particle of dust or misuse. 

At the center of the lab was a huge white marble table with a holographic projector attached. She tapped a few things to link his omni-tool for whenever he was ready. The rest of the lab was surrounded by a perimeter of matching white marble counters with cabinets that had windows revealing different tools and instruments carefully organized in them. 

"Wow," was all he could manage. 

She shrugged her shoulders and went to a metal bar stool that was tucked under the main table at the center. She said, "I know it's not Alliance grade, but it gets the job done. I'm sure you're used to everything being genuine leather and platinum and chrome, but this is home."

"What?" He asked, suspecting that he somehow struck a chord. 

"You know what I mean. My house is small but it's home and I worked for it."

Kaidan sat next to her and shook his head, "There's nothing wrong with that. It's impressive and it's so you."

"How would you know?" 

Considering she had only just talked to him for the first time in the last few days after ten years, it said nothing. Kaidan showed up in his blue spectre armor, his hair perfectly maintained with one of the best small class stealth ships under his belt. He came talking about Shepard and bringing up brain camp and this big mission that he needed her help on like he couldn't just choose anyone in the galaxy and get what he wanted with the same results or better. 

He sighed, realizing what she meant. The last ten years had gone very different for each of them. No one was to blame and they had rather busy lives that didn't call for just waking up and remembering to call a friend from years ago that they only knew for a short while. 

"I'd like to," he shrugged. 

Tessa shook her head as if this was the wrong answer. She was just overwhelmed, but she couldn't hold her tongue. She said, "Just put the blueprint on the hologram and show me what this is all about." He didn't hesitate, though he did so slowly and rather adamantly like there was more he wanted to say. 

The blueprint was now being projected in front of them, blown up in size with no notes to label anything. At first, she was speechless. At first glance she had no idea what she was looking at. She expected there to be some sort of diagram with notes, labels, descriptions, measurements, something... but there was nothing. Just a sketch that had been remodeled and brought to life thanks to the omni-tool of the spectre who initially scanned it. 

Even Kaidan was dumbfounded and feeling at a loss. He hadn't played around with the blueprint, much less taken time to glance at it in the first place. 

"This is hardly a blueprint. There's nothing here to go off." 

She was annoyed and he could hear it in her voice. The council was relying on her to come up with something that could either unite the species more or split the species further. They needed some sort of answer before officially deciding what to do with the physical copy of the blueprint. They needed some sort of insight before they proceeded with assembling a team that would build it. What she was looking at, however, drew blanks in her mind. 

The model before her was both circular and flat, like a ball had been squished to be mostly two dimensional. Because of the holographic projection, she had no idea what color it was supposed to be because it was only appearing as default orange from the hologram. 

Tessa waved her arms to move the projection and look at it better before her as she now stood up, leaning over the table while Kaidan remained seated and watching her move. 

The flat, circular device had a thin line at the center of one side. It seemingly served as a compartment for something. At the edge of the circular device was a hole. It didn't go straight through the device. Her first thoughts were that something could be put in the hole to extend the device. The holographic projection of the blueprint brought back to life didn't offer much insight as to what the hole may be able to do. 

Just as she was about to give up, one of the tools on the counter behind her began to beep. It was a communicator that was linked to her omni-tool. She waved her hand over her arm to answer. 

"Tessa, I know you're busy working for spectres now, but I have a job for you," a voice without a face said. 

Of course, Tessa knew who it was but Kaidan was left clueless. She rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, smart ass, what do you want?"

The masculine voice let out a deep laugh, somewhat muffled by the transmission of the communicator. He said, "The damn Blue Suns are trying to sell one of my guys again. Any chance you passing by Purgatory soon?"

"Any chance I have a choice?" It was rhetorical. When the Rasmus contacts you for a job, you don't say no.

No matter how bad of a job it seems, it's still better than what would happen if you said no. Fortunately for Tessa, she was on the good side of Rasmus who had a soft spot for her. Unfortunately, however, this didn't mean much to Rasmus who, at the end of the day, just wanted work taken care of for him. 

This only made him laugh more. "You're really cute when you think you have a shot at getting rid of me. But no. The answer is no. Take care of this shit. I don't need to tell you a due date." 

To Kaidan, this didn't look too good. It sounded harsh, it came off as rude, and it definitely seemed more than suspicious. Tessa knew that Rasmus had plenty of people to do his bidding for him, so he only gave specific jobs to Tessa who came off as otherwise harmless. 

But both Tessa and Rasmus knew why she was chosen specifically for particular jobs. Other freelancers had nothing to their name and not much else to lose if they get caught or end up dead. Tessa was a renowned scientist. People who stirred up trouble involved with Rasmus weren't smart enough to know the name Tessa Rubio. Whether they did or didn't, however, wasn't important because anyone who saw who was under the helmet didn't survive whatever would happen next to even recognize her in the future. 

She said nothing as she ended the communicator transmission. All of a sudden, things were more fast paced as she grabbed a few things, moved a few others, and said on the way out of her own lab, "Sorry, major, but duty calls."

He couldn't bring himself to terms with anything that had just happened. Instead, he leapt from his chair and followed her across the hall to her room. 

"What do you mean, we have to..." Kaidan trailed off as he saw the black lace underwear on her bed. She noticed but picked it up and threw it in a drawer like it was no big deal. 

Kaidan tried not to let his mind wonder as he went back to the issue at hand. After that, he wasn't even sure if he had an issue anymore until he was reminded by the fact that she was actually packing a bag. 

"Purgatory? Really? You don't need to be around that place."

She burst into laughter, packing some clothes only to grab the same lace underwear from before and put it in her bag. She asked while she continued packing, "Do you think I'm still the sixteen year old from brain camp? I've probably been to purgatory more times than you've taken a bullets to that little biotic barrier of yours."

"Now that can't be true," he said too quickly before shaking it off and getting back to the point, "and what business do you have there?"

After packing what she deemed to be sufficient, she was followed by Kaidan as she went down the stairs to the living room. With ease, she shoved her futon couch out of the way and lifted a corner of the rug to reveal a hidden door. It was small and it didn't go down too far. It was just deep enough that she could pull out a large bag which contents clinked like metal inside.

She let it drop on the cushion of the futon before unzipping it. Kaidan didn't even realize how close he had gotten to explain to his curiosity what was in the bag. 

"Like what you see?" She asked dryly as she unpacked the armor. 

Kaidan's stomach was doing flips. The black armor was so pristine and well kept, but that wasn't the best part. The single red stripe going down the right arm surrounded by two white stripes raised goosebumps beneath his own blue spectre armor. It was completed by the famous N7 logo, small and perfectly placed on the side of the chest plate. 

"Tessa! You are an N7!" He cried out. 

"How informal," she was somewhat joking. 

Spectres were above laws and regulations, but she wasn't. She would rather not get into the habit of being on a first name basis with Kaidan like they were teenagers again. They were hardly coworkers. 

"This is crazy! Who knows about this? What armor set is this? I've never seen it in my life!" He was giddy with excitement. 

Tessa held up the helmet that matched the rest of the slim armor. She moved it around to observe it with a smile. It was one of her proudest achievements. She hadn't been an N7 for long after she finished her contract. However, once an N7, always an N7. They were the only specialists of the N class allowed to wear their ranks on anything. With that said, she was no longer enlisted but still commissioned by the Alliance covert ops. The armor wasn't Alliance issued, but approved. 

Instead of answering his questions, Tessa grabbed the bag of armor and clothes and tossed them over her shoulder. She said, "You're a spectre, universally renowned. I'm surprised your name hasn't been put forward for the N class." 

"Aren't you going to put it on?" He asked. 

"Yup, as soon as I get to my shuttle. How 'bout we try this again tomorrow morning after I blow off some steam?" 

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. This was too much for him to take in. His head was beginning to throb with both excitement and confusion and all these questions he had. "You plan on going to Purgatory and coming back before tomorrow morning?" A dry, sarcastic laugh of disbelief escaped his lips. 

"Um, yeah, so I'll see you then," she said. She called out for her pyjaks who ran down the stairs, saw the bags, and immediately knew what the drill was. One hopped on the left shoulder while the other hopped on the right. The weight of the armor and two space monkeys made her wobble before she steadied herself and stepped out of the house. She waited on Kaidan to follow. 

He shook his head, grabbing the heavier bag full of armor from her to carry. "If you're going to Purgatory, I'm coming with you." 

She laughed as she used her free hand to wave the omni-tool and lock her house up. She said, "No, your crew is here and I'll be back tomorrow. If spectres are so above the law, why don't you just tell the council I'm on house arrest spending time looking at a blueprint with absolutely no details to help me?" 

Kaidan grabbed her by the hand. It felt harder than it was considering she was wearing cloth gloves and he was wearing armored ones. He kept his eyes low, "Tessa, when is the last time you went to Purgatory?"

"Hm, just a few months ago, why?"

Was that a big deal? She went to Purgatory every now and then to deal with issues that Rasmus had. It wasn't frequent, but every time she went, she always caused a stir that left them scrambling. 

He was shaking his head again, this time with disbelief. He said, "Who is Rasmus? Why is he sending you there? After Shepard took Jack, they increased their biotic containment systems tenfold."

Tessa raised her eyebrows, not following, "And?"

"It means that not only is it hard for a biotic to use their abilities, but it is virtually impossible and unbelievably painful for a biotic to even function should they use a containment device on you." 

This was something she was completely unaware of. She didn't see it as an obstacle, just a headache. "I don't need to use my biotics."

"I'm coming with you," he shook it off and gestured for her to lead the way. 

She let out a long, overdramatic sigh before she allowed a mischievous smirk to take over. She simply put on the gloves from her armor set and left the rest of the pieces in the bag. "Fine, major, but only if you can keep up."

Her space monkeys squeaked at this, knowing what that expression meant as she took them off her shoulders and cradled them each in one arm. Before he could question just what kind of race they were having, the sound of her jets in the palms of her armored hands igniting could be heard as it sent her rocketing into the air with such a force that he stumbled back a step. It begged the question... what was he getting himself into?


	5. Chapter 5

"About time you caught up," Tessa was smirking at Kaidan who had just arrived to the docking bay garage. Her two space monkeys cackled with high pitched laughter at this. 

She was sitting on top of a shuttle ship with her legs hanging down from it. He sighed and said, "I can't wait to hear about how you got your hands on a set of armor that can fly."

"Boost and hover," she corrected. 

"Whatever. Please tell me that you're not stealing someone's UT-47?"

She hopped from the top of it and slapped her hand on the metal. "This bad boy is all mine. The UT-47 Kodiak, the only one of its class that is capable of limited FTL travel."

The shuttle ship was a compact, light traveler yet built so heavy duty. It has made it out of acid, extreme temperatures, and maintained function through hard planetary vacuums and high pressures from nearly absolute zero to nine-hundred degrees Celsius. For those staying around this side of the Milky Way, it was the perfect traveling companion aside from the two space monkeys that had traveled so much in it that they had their own chairs. After all, it can fit up to fourteen regular sized people. It was perfect for Tessa to get in and out and make some credits along the way. The best part? It was a gift from the Alliance. It wasn't necessarily a stealth ship for covert ops, but if they were going to allow her to freelance after her contract had to be adjusted, this was the least they could do. 

It was matte black without any other color. Kaidan did notice that an emblem in the corner had been subtly added. It was a small N7 logo that no one would notice upon first glance as it was tucked in a corner under larger letters describing its make and model. 

"You coming, or what?" She asked once the door hovered open. Her space monkeys excitedly ran inside, already making their way to their chair beds. 

Once Kaidan was inside, she tapped a few buttons on the board to close the door, latch it, and put in a navpoint. From there, the shuttle took over for her as she turned on her heel and went behind a curtain with her armor bag. 

Kaidan was sitting next to the curtain. He was curious as to what was on the other side. If he had pulled the curtain just a few seconds later, he would have accidentally saw too much. 

Behind the curtain, Tessa had taken off her hoodie and revealed a white tank top contrasting beautifully against her golden brown skin. Luckily they both spotted each other before she took anything else off. She hastily snapped the curtain closed again, but not before Kaidan saw the scar just under and parallel to her collarbone. It probably closer to four inches in length and varying in thickness. 

"I know you're familiar with shuttles. I don't know what kind you've been on, but the ones I've seen don't exactly have changing rooms, do they?"

He ignored her sarcasm and rhetorical question and chose to just apologize instead. He said, "Sorry, ma'am, just taking me a minute to catch up."

"Can you go back to calling me by my rank? 'Ma'am' is somehow worse." Before he could respond, he listened to the clinking of metal on the other side of the curtain. He could hear what he presumed to be the last piece snapping into place. The sound that came next almost sounded as if the thing powered on! He couldn't wait to see. 

Finally, she took heavy steps out from behind the curtain to reveal the complete armor set aside from the helmet. The slick black metal paired with the slimming armor that was framed to her every contour was so satisfying, so perfectly fitting. She held the pointed helmet between her arm pressed against her waist. Her brown braided hair was draping over the armor which would eventually get tucked in. 

"How are you still the most beautiful woman in the universe?"

He had let it slip out before he had even had time to process what he had even said. Tessa wish she had the helmet on to hide her blush. Instead, she teased somewhat seriously, "Oh stop."

"You've always known me to be honest," he laughed and scratched the back of his head, trying to play it off. 

This wiped the smile and blush from her face. She said, "No, I knew you for five months and then I never knew you again."

Kaidan was putting the pieces together by now. He was noticing the same trend. Bringing up their old friendship proved to be a touchy subject. Why? To his knowledge, they hadn't parted ways on bad terms. The only issue was that neither of them reached out. 

"Tessa, I don't understand. I know brain camp was awful for us, but you can't tell me that the semester we were friends wasn't the best?"

"Lieutenant," she corrected in an effort to keep him from getting too comfortable with referring to her by first name. The fact that they were working together on a project under the council was enough to raise heads. Being back on a first name basis, no matter their history, would make it worse. She continued, telling him honestly, "That was the best semester of brain camp ever. But then the next ten years were hell and none of that mattered."

He could come up with nothing and the rest of the ride was spent in silence with her sitting at the pilot's seat in that black armor with the famous striped arm and him hanging back in the rear of the shuttle in his blue spectre armor with the white striped arms and yellow emblem that anyone of any species could recognize from a mile away. They were a very intimidating duo, especially when they would put their helmets on later. This usually tended to be a good thing when traveling the galaxy: look bigger than you are. However, two biotics going to the newly redesigned Purgatory in such uniforms was going to draw lots of attention and maybe even worse. The Blue Suns and other mercenaries didn't usually care who you were, where you were from, who you worked for, or what you looked like, but cared more about what trouble you came to cause and what business you had being there in the first place. 

Once the shuttle was cleared for docking, Tessa whispered something to her two pyjaks before waiting by the door of the shuttle with Kaidan right behind her. 

"Quick brief on this. Rasmus has a guy here, prisoner eighteen, we need to get them out without spending a single credit while leaving our mark. Not a single person should see the prisoner get into my shuttle. If they do, they've seen too much and they will never see anything again."

As frightening of a broad statement as that was, Kaidan was unamused. He leaned on the inside of the shuttle and asked, "Who is Rasmus anyways? This is a bit extreme."

"He's a Citadel Security executor, one of two. Unlike the other, Rasmus may uphold the law, but he knows loopholes. Contracting a reserves N7 approved by the Alliance is one of them. It's even better that you're here."

Kaidan said, "He didn't sound too found of spectres. Almost like you shouldn't be working with them."

"He isn't and I shouldn't," Tessa told him honestly as the shuttle doors opened. 

Both of them had put on their helmets to cover their faces completely, adding a layer of anonymity. However, faces meant nothing. The armor for a specialist and a spectre were more than what the Blue Suns needed to know. 

A turian mercenary clad in the blue armor with the white circular logo is who first approached him. He introduced himself, "I am Dudriel, please surrender your guns and submit identification."

"This spectre came with pockets full of dirty council credits, ready to spend and take home one of your guys. He doesn't need to show identification, but I suppose if you don't need the business..." Tessa trailed off, smirking from behind her helmet. 

"Really?" Kaidan sighed from behind his own helmet, only audible to Tessa through their comm link. He had no idea this was the plan. He had no idea he wasn't even apart of any plan. Tessa didn't either, but to her defense, she just thought of it. 

Dudriel shook his head and moved a step out of the way, as if to gesture for them to proceed, "This will not be an issue. Please allow me to guide you to our available prisoners." 

Purgatory was a prison ship, like a disk in shape with one large circled hallway and numerous prisoner cells going around the perimeter of that very circle. Even with the thickness of the glass and metal separating the prisoners from the walkway, the screams and banging of the walls could be heard. Combine that with hundreds of prisoners and it made for an eerie sound as they walked the wide hallways with no decor or furniture. It all felt so empty, yet it was filled with people of different species. Some hadn't even committed the crime. Some had just seen too much, knew too much, or had gotten on someone's bad side. 

"Anyone you see with a green tag is for sale. The red ones are off limits."

She kept her eyes peeled for a prisoner with a green tagged uniform with the number eighteen. The ones for sale had codes, however, not numbers and she realized that the person she was here to "buy" wasn't actually for sale. She realized this as she passed a few and saw who Rasmus was wanting her to bring back to Ivoria for extraction. 

Number eighteen stood out for numerous reasons. For one, this was one of few asari prisoners. She was a lavender color, sitting against a wall and watching them as they walked. She didn't bat an eye when the trio stopped in front of her cell to look at her. 

Two, her cell stood out from everyone else's. She was very clearly in a new biotic containment system. Asari were natural biotics, after all. 

"This one isn't for sale," Dudriel said calmly. He began to walk to the next cell but stopped in his tracks upon realizing that Tessa and Kaidan were not following him to where the other prisoners that were actually for sale were. 

Tessa sighed, contemplating it. Kaidan began communicating privately through Tessa's helmet. He said, "This has to be a set up. There's no way you're getting past that containment system without being immobilized yourself. We need to go."

She ignored him as she activated her omni-blade on her arm and signaled Rasmus. As soon as she heard his voice, she asked, "Yeah, it's me. How much are you paying me?" 

"Ten thousand credits."

Rasmus said it like he knew this was a lot. Her other contracts got her anywhere between five hundred and five thousand credits. This would pay her rent for months to come and allow her to buy new equipment for her lab. She said nothing else as she ended the transmission and cleared the projection of the holographic omni-took.

Kaidan knew what this meant. They exchanged looks through their helmets. Tessa turned to Dudriel and asked, "How much for this one to be sold?"

Dudriel shook his head and repeated, "Not for sale. Sorry, ma'am."

"What's so special about her anyways?"

He shrugged, "Boss's orders."

"Do you know who I am?" She asked. She didn't expect him to. That line always seemed to go one of two ways: it would either piss them off, or intimidate. Either result satisfied her and gave her the reaction she wanted. 

It only pissed Dudriel off. A spectre and a N7 were standing before him. As far as he was concerned, these were two rude guests that shouldn't even be there, two set-righteous military punks that thought they were owed everything, but business was business. This was the line that pushed him over. 

"Actually, miss, I don't give a damn who either of you are. In fact, I would love to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, she grabbed her holstered heavy pistol and shot a single bullet to the right of the turian. She did so because she was well aware of his shields that disintegrated the bullet before depleting. Dudriel had no time to react, or he was too slow. By the time he had reached for his own gun, Tessa had sent a bullet straight through his chest as Kaidan revealed his own gun to lay a few into him as Dudriel collapse to the ground. 

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Kaiden sighed. 

She said nothing in response as she walked to the confined asari while Kaidan kept watch. It was a good thing the prison ship was too poor or dumb to have proper surveillance. They did, however, have regular patrols and the next security officer would be walking by shortly. 

Tessa examined the keypad that was linked to the cell and containment system that the asari was inside of. She pushed a button to speak to the asari through the glass, "How do I get you out of here?" 

"Shoot the keypad," the asari said as if this should have just been common sense. 

"That won't work, lieutenant. The biotic containment systems will be activated throughout the whole facility. It will be impossible for us to get out of here."

The sound of chatter around the hallway and slowly approaching heavy footsteps could be heard. The guards hadn't figured it out yet, but they soon would. 

"You can disable the containment system from the keypad before shooting it," the asari's voice was silky despite being monotone. She sounded permanently bored, unamused, and unimpressed, almost as if she knew that she could be doing this better. 

Tessa tried not to overthink it and maintain her patience. She summoned her omni-tool to override the biotic containment instructions. She wasn't sure what happened next, but a green light on the keypad was her cue to shoot it. The glass window began to slide upwards as the asari weakly and slowly sat up and walked out of her cell. 

"Oh, would it kill you to pick up the pace? Because if it doesn't, then I will kill you myself," Tessa told the asari.

"Time to go," Kaidan said, aiming his gun around the rounded corner of the hallway where the guards had heard the bullets bouncing off the keypad and had picked up the pace. 

Tessa did one final glance in that direction before nudging the asari to go the opposite way. The asari tried to go faster with Tessa close behind and Kaidan trailing them, watching their six. When the asari abruptly stopped in her tracks, Tessa nearly trampled her. 

Blocking the exit to the docking bay was a krogan, two more turians, and two more completely armored humans whose faces could not be seen past their Blue Suns outfits. They had their guns already raised and aimed at the three of them, preventing anyone or anything from getting past them to where the shuttle was parked. 

"Hand over the subject," the krogan roared lowly in a voice that was natural to his kind. 

She would never understand why people with guns opted for conversation before just laying bullets into anything and everything. With that in mind, she said nothing as she went for the krogan and turians first. In her experience on the prison ship, the human Blue Suns members were there just for strength in numbers which meant nothing considering they had the worst equipment and worst aim. 

Kaidan followed suit, easily knocking back the aliens while the humans that shot barely made it past their barriers that ate the bullets before they even got a chance to get any closer. The turians were the first to collapse with the krogan stumbling backwards and putting on a good fight until it was the asari that raised her arm and warped him, finishing him off with dark energy at the molecular level and stunning the humans next to him. 

"Go! Where's your ship?" The asari began to hurry forward. 

"Docking bay space six," Tessa said as she walked to the dead krogan and turians where the two stunned humans were. 

They were immobilized, but staring at her through the sockets of their helmets. They waited helplessly for her next move: to spare them or to end it while she still had the advantage. She knew which option would be quicker, but leaving them behind meant the risk of them talking too much. 

When Tessa put away her heavy pistol, Kaidan followed suit with his own and took a few steps closer behind her. They both stared at the stunned humans that were unable to do anything else but stand there. They almost felt relieved that Tessa and Kaidan had put their weapons away, only for the last thing they would ever see to be her grabbing them by the helmets and snapping their necks one at a time. 

They watched the bodies fall to the ground before Kaidan put his hand on her back, urging her to go once he looked over his shoulder. He could hear fast footsteps approaching, but the reinforcements hadn't arrived quite yet. 

The asari was waiting impatiently at the door of the shuttle. She had her arms crossed and yelled, "This is your ship?! We will never make it out of here!" 

A wave of Tessa's arm unlatched the doors as they shuffled inside, the asari first followed by Kaidan and Tessa. 

She turned around just as one Blue Suns member rounded the corner with his gun aimed at her. This krogan let out a roar of laughter. Only he knew what his bullets were laced with. He only needed to fire a single round from his rifle. It burned through her shields, her biotic barrier, put a hole in her armor as it went through, and landed lodged in her shoulder. 

The result was painful, not from the bullet but from the aftermath. The bullet laced with a biotic containment acid disabled her implant, her abilities, and immediately made her weak. It began with her legs as she fell to the floor involuntarily, losing control of them.

It was Kaidan who caught her on her way down and began to pull her further inside the shuttle. The doors slowly closed and with what little control she had in her arms, Tessa grabbed a sniper rifle leaned against the wall of the shuttle and quickly aimed it. Without much time to aim, time slowed for her with the last bit of energy she had left. She didn't have to think, she just needed to pull the trigger. 

The bullet landed right between the eyes of the krogan who fell to his knees before face planting. The bullet had gone straight through his defenses. Just to make a statement, she pulled the trigger again. This time she was unable to aim at all, and the bullet went into his shoulder from where he lay dead on the metal floor. She pulled the trigger again just as the doors closed, sending a bullet ricocheting off one of the walls. 

"Hey!" He shook her limp body. She was more than alive, but just numb and out of control. 

By then, the asari had made it to the pilot's seat and began jets to take them away. "She will be fine. The anti-biotic acid is temporary. They have used it on me more times than I can count."

Kaidan ripped off his helmet and looked at her where he held her somewhat upright in his arms, worried for numerous reasons. This was his old friend that he would like to get to know again. This was also the person he was tasked with defending, a very hard-headed, stubborn person at that which only made his assignment harder. 

She could barely move her lips, but she could manage an eye roll with a groan in the process. She was always able to manage an eye roll. He scoffed at this, letting her fall with a hard thud to the metal floor of the shuttle as he walked away from her. This made the asari giggle to herself as the shuttle's autopilot mode took them to the navpoint of Ivoria. 

It wasn't long before Tessa broke free. She had been laying on her back facing the ceiling just as Kaidan had left her, annoyed. She sucked in hair and wiggled her limbs as she stretched before taking her own helmet off and leaning forward. With her back to the asari in the pilot's seat, she looked at Kaidan who was sat near the door. 

"That could have been a lot worse," he mumbled, avoiding her contact. 

"What's your problem?"

"My problem is that you're reckless and there are more important things than your contracts right now. You're my responsibility. If that's an issue, then just hurry up with your research. The quicker we figure out what the hell that relic is, the quicker I'll leave you alone," he snapped. 

She remained on the floor sitting in her armor with her helmet at her side and her knees pulled to her chest. She sighed, momentarily speechless for once in her life. Not many people put her in her place anymore. If she was going to have to work with Kaidan, then she would at least like to be civilized. 

Tessa picked herself up from the floor and sat next to him. She said, "I'm sorry. I guess it hasn't really clicked in my head how big of a deal this is. I mean, the blueprints are pretty much blank. It's hard to disassemble something to figure out what it is when it isn't physically in front of you. It's not exactly motivating."

He sighed, looking at his armor before finally nodding. He looked up and offered a smile with a metallic hand pushing a strand of his dark hair out of his face, disheveled from previously wearing his helmet. "Well, whatever it is that you figure out, I'm right there with you."

It was somewhat reassuring to know that someone who was basically a stranger was supporting her, even in her recklessness. She would like to get to know Kaidan all over again, no matter how much he has changed, but it was hard to look at him, to see him, and to really take him in. It only reminded her of what little she could remember from her days at brain camp, and it forced her to swallow the memory of things otherwise forgotten. 

Speaking of strangers, she was also reminded of the asari in her pilot seat. Instead of acknowledging Kaidan's support, Tessa's attention had shifted to the contract she was on. 

"Who are you, and why are you so comfortable in my seat?" Tessa asked, leaving Kaidan's side to go speak with the stolen prisoner. 

"My name is Eris, and if you just know, I have found that I prefer leather seats over the fabric ones," the asari told Tessa almost too honestly. 

Tessa crossed her arms and leaned on the side of the shuttle. Eris was sitting with elegant posture, her legs crossed and her back straight as she held eye contact with Tessa. "What does Rasmus want with you?"

"Oh, goddess! Rasmus sent you! I should have allowed you to kill me for my slow pace when you offered!"

Now, Kaidan was interested. He had joined them at the front of the shuttle and asked, "Who is he? What's so terrible about him? He hired someone to break you out, after all."

Eris shook her head, actual tears welling in her eyes against her lavender skin. She said, "What the Blue Suns could have done to me does not compare to what Rasmus has planned."

He looked at Tessa for answers, but she had none. She said, "Rasmus is a turian executor for the Citadel, he has been contracting me ever since I was put into the reserves after the accident."

"What? What accident?"

Tessa looked between him and Eris and sighed, "I guess we have some catching up to do after all, huh?"


	6. Above The Law

Tessa's omni-blade would not stop ringing. She kept denying incoming comms from Rasmus who was growing more and more impatient with her assignment as she kept him in the dark. She had since made it back to the safety of her home on Ivoria, but not without confusion as to how to proceed with the stolen asari.

"Please, miss Rubio, you must not surrender me to Rasmus," Eris pleaded. She had even grabbed Tessa by the hands, as if to emphasize as she pleaded with her.

By then, Tessa had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Even Kaidan had shrugged off his armor and opted for his Alliance fatigues. Eris was still wearing the prison clothes that had been provided to her, consisting of rags that barely covered her torso and pants that had been ripped and torn from the previous prisoners that had worn them before her.

"You still never told us what the problem is," Kaidan asked. He was sitting on one end of the futon in Tessa's living room while Tessa set on the opposite end with a large gap between them. Eris was standing, pacing back and forth in the living room as the two pyjaks followed her movements with their heads, curiously.

Eris said, "Rasmus hides behind his position with the Citadel Security as he plays a part in different gang activities in the wards. It gives him leverage, as it does with most people who play good roles only to have a hand in the downfalls of others. I was a reporter on the Citadel who he believed to know too much. He kept me in the wards with some of the people who did his bidding so his hands were not as dirty. I suppose someone paid a high enough price to get me from his own people on the Citadel to Purgatory."

"Well, what kind of information did you have?"

"I was working on a publication with leaked files, official documents with the highest clearance. It would bring light to numerous officials of the Citadel, both past and present, that were abusing their power from minor infractions to court-martial offenses. Some of these would even warrant capital punishment in some worlds. A few of the leaked documents and transcripts include officials from other planets of every species. No one else wanted to work on this with me, so it is taking a bit longer than I thought to go through it all."

Tessa scoffed, "I wonder why no reporter would be ever so willing to help you take down some of the most powerful political figures of the Milky Way."

Of course, she was only being sarcastic. Even the most well known reporters that were revered for their devotion to uncovering the truth knew to stay away from anything including a fraction of what Eris had explained. Most reporters, especially ones of the Citadel, were owned by people like Rasmus as she obviously found out the hard way. The job of being a reporter was no longer about uncovering the truth and delivering news, but more so to put on a show and stir up trouble and more importantly, create distractions.

It seemed that Eris was not picking up on Tessa's sarcasm as she sighed, "I know this to be surprising, but I suppose I cannot blame them. I cannot imagine that all of them would have made it out alive like I did."

She spoke so eloquently, so soft. It was like Eris had total control of her tonality, her enunciation, and her features as she spoke with silky transitions. She knew her volume and how to speak just audibly enough to be heard while maintaining her smooth voice. It didn't falter, even when she was confused.

"Well, what do you suggest, Eris? What am I supposed to tell Rasmus? There is no way of lying to him. He has intel on that prison ship. He'll know that you're not there anymore."

Kaidan rolled his eyes, "Then why didn't he have someone else get Eris out of there?"

"I thank the goddess that it was you, miss Rubio, or else I would not get the chance to finish my work," Eris bowed her head, finally stopping her pacing back and forth.

"You can call me Tessa," was all that she replied as she tapped a few things on her projected omni-blade. She was trying to brainstorm on how to proceed. 

Assignments didn't normally go like this for her. She made sure to stay out of direct politics, and she made this clear to every contractor. Rasmus had been a regular of hers, and he seemed to know better. It only made her wonder how many other times she had done his bidding for him so he could keep his hands clean.

"We should really start on the blueprint, uh," Kaidan trailed off, unsure of what to call her. He had thought she was still a lieutenant only to find out that she was a N specialist. Even she didn't know how to proceed. A first name basis with each other would unfortunately raise suspicion, she had found that out the hard way a long time ago.

She found it hard to multi-task between looking through information revealed by her omni-tool and the conversation between the three of them. Eris finally let out a sigh and said, "Miss Tessa, if you do not mind, I would really appreciate new clothes."

Eris was beginning to seem sluggish, and even then, she still held herself well. Tessa nodded understandingly, "You'll find my room upstairs. Good luck finding anything that fits." Instead of asking what that may mean, Eris only nodded with a thankful, weak smile as she found her way to the room. 

Kaidan shifted on the couch, keeping his distance as he turned towards Tessa to focus his attention on her better. He said, "I want to know what happened to you."

"Now isn't really a good time," she told him without looking up from her omni-tool, "I'm going to have a pissed off C-Sec executor on my ass if I don't come up with something."

He hummed as he brainstormed with her before coming up with something. "Why don't you let me talk to him?"

"And say what?" She laughed as if the question should have been rhetorical. He shrugged. He hadn't thought that far ahead, but he was a spectre after all, and the council would favor him over the executor. It wouldn't be that much of a leniency, but seeing a spectre would be more than enough for Rasmus to lay off, even if it was just for a little while. "No one saw who Eris left with, right? We could tell him that she's with me now. There's nothing he could do about it at that point. He could either assume that I am handling a problem that would put the officials at risk, or that he should just mind his business going forward."

Tessa waved her omni-tool away and finally met Kaidan's brown eyes. She narrowed her own at his and asked, "You report to the council. Why would you help someone who is looking to expose the people they do business with?"

Kaidan looked down at his lap and said, "If she's telling the truth, I would want the people to know. It buys us time." She nodded, feeling somewhat better about the situation knowing she wasn't in this alone anymore. "I'll send you his comm link."

In the next few moments, Kaidan was beginning a video transmission of himself as he requested Rasmus with Tessa on the other side of the room so as not to be seen. Kaidan had worked with plenty of different species, but even seeing Rasmus being holographically projected before him from his omni-tool came as a shock.

Rasmus was an orange projection, but Kaidan could tell that he was a darker colored turian. He was one of few that did not wear face paint. His eyes were dark and he was noticeably stiff. "To what do I owe the pleasure, spectre?"

He wasn't even in his spectre armor, but Rasmus recognized him. The second human spectre, a decorated Alliance marine hero, and of course having read every file known to be involved with Tessa before contracting her, he knew that Kaidan had a brief history with her when they were teenagers. 

"The asari prisoner is within my jurisdiction now. She will be dealt with accordingly."

"Ah, really? And this has nothing to do with your history with my agent, does it, Mr. Alenko?"

Kaidan smiled at this as Tessa's eyes widened. Of course she should have known that Rasmus had done his research on her before trusting an N7 biotic with some of his most guiltiest contracts. Kaidan had been waiting for the day to do this as he said, "I don't answer to the C-Sec." With that, he ended the transmission.

"Wow, Alenko, that was very impressive if I may say so," she smiled before adding a more serious note at the end, "and thank you."

"Anything for you, now shall we go check on our prisoner and see what's taking her so long?"

Tessa nodded at this, leading the way up the stairs only to see that Eris had fallen asleep on her bed. The prisoner's garb she had been previously wearing had pooled at the floor from where she had taken it off. On the bed, Eris wore one of Tessa's tee shirts and a pair of lace shorts. The tee shirt was extremely tight on Eris thanks to the size of her bust, but she didn't seem to mind as she snored comfortably and peacefully.

"There's our answer, and I guess I'll be sleeping on the futon as a guest in my own house," Tessa giggled lightly, keeping her voice down so that she didn't wake Eris. Though she suspected that nothing would disturb Eris's sleep. She must have been awake for days, keeping her eyes open on that prisoner ship and never letting her guard down.

She pulled a blanket over the asari, but not without Kaidan sneaking one last glance at the lace shorts with a smirk as he said, "Cute."

On the way back downstairs, Tessa playfully teased, "That's my favorite pair of shorts and all I can get is a 'cute'? Wow."

"Perhaps my reaction would have been a bit different if I saw you wearing them instead. Besides, I complimented you earlier today and it nearly started an argument."

It was the truth. He was being honest when he called her the most beautiful woman of the universe. It wasn't like Tessa was on his mine after every woman he met in the last ten years, but for the first part of it, she was. He had always felt like their paths would cross, but he didn't expect it to take a decade nor did he expect it to be under these circumstances.

She had nothing to say to this because she knew that he was right. She had gotten overly defensive earlier, but the whole situation over the last week had been stressful. She tried to come up with something. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

It was easier to blame it on her exhaustion, which was partly true, but it was harder to face the reality of Kaidan being around only reminded her of a terrible time in her life. She knew that this shouldn't reflect on how she treated him. He was the one who alleviated her suffering during those few months at brain camp, after all. 

"That's too bad, because I'm dying to know what happened," his raspy voice felt closer than it actually was. 

Both of them had made their way back to the futon, this time sitting a little bit closer than before so as to not speak as loudly. Eris may have been all the way upstairs, but it was still a small house and asari obviously had impeccable senses.

"Where do I start?" She sleepily joked. 

Her living room was illuminated by one lamp. It was nicely lit, but dimmer with the darkness covering Ivoria. It was further from the sun, so it called for long nights and short days. 

"I want to know about that scar on your collarbone."

Her eyes widened, "Thanks for reminding me! Want to see something terrible?" 

She slid her hoodie over her head, revealing a white tank top underneath. His eyes immediately went to the scar before realizing the anti-biotic bullet was still lodged in her shoulder. He scowled at the sight and further grimaced as she held her hand over it. 

The familiar purple hue surrounded her hand as the dark energy from mass effect fields empowered her. He knew it all too well. She used the biotic telekinesis to cleanly pull the thick bullet from her shoulder, wincing at the very slow process. That wasn't the worse part. 

Where the bullet had been left a hole, shallow but wide. It was about the size of a dime, but it didn't go too deep. That wasn't saying much considering it was still a large hole. The veins surrounding the hole were dark purple from being irritated and spread out like dendrites across her brown shoulder. It was beautiful to him, albeit painful. 

And soon, the dark dendritic purple veins began retracting. The closer they retreated to her wound before diminishing, the quicker it began to heal. Eventually, the dime sized wound had turned to what appeared to be only a beauty mark half the size. 

"Wow, what biotic amp implant let you do that?" 

She giggled and just as she went to respond, her eyes grew large. The brown irises surrounded by white made it clear that she had just realized something, her fingers tightening into fists as she leapt from the couch and ran upstairs. Kaidan, startled, followed her to make sure everything was alright, but she was much faster than he was. 

When he made it up the stairs, he saw that Tessa was now in her lab. She was hastily spinning around the holographic projection of the blueprint, trying to connect dots that only she could see. Finally, she sucked in a breath and turned to Kaidan, "This is a biotic amp!"


End file.
